Firefox OS, previously known as Boot to Gecko (B2G), is designed to give Mozilla a foothold in the smartphone market.
Mozilla

Mozilla's browser-based smartphone operating system has grown up a notch, winning over partners such as Sprint and ZTE and picking up the marketing-friendly name of Firefox OS.

In addition, Mozilla has announced several partners, a necessity for making a bunch of software into something people actually use: only a very small number of people have the skills and interest to install a mobile-phone OS.

Now new carriers are on board: Deutsche Telekom, Smart, Sprint, Telecom Italia, and Telenor. There also are two announced handset makers: ZTE and TCL Communication Technology, which will make phones under the Alcatel One Touch brand.

The open-source operating system uses Linux under the covers, but it runs applications on a version of Firefox. That's straightforward for using many Web sites and Web apps, but Mozilla also is adapting it so Web apps can take advantage of smartphone features such as gyroscopes and cameras.

"Mozilla's OS for mobile devices will help deliver on our mission to offer advanced Web technologies that eliminate roadblocks for users and developers. It will also help Mozilla to democratize smartphone experiences to the billions of internet users expected to come online for the first time through mobile in the coming years," said Mozilla Chief Executive Gary Kovacs in a statement. "The large number of operators and manufacturers now supporting this effort will bring additional resources and welcome diversity to our global offerings."

About the author

Stephen Shankland has been a reporter at CNET since 1998 and covers browsers, Web development, digital photography and new technology. In the past he has been CNET's beat reporter for Google, Yahoo, Linux, open-source software, servers and supercomputers. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces.
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